Switchup
by Edward Squidman
Summary: For my buddy Berry. Bessie is a highschool student who wouldn't mind a change or two. One day she's presented with an opportunity that could change her life (or just a week of it). Mild satire warning. Bring your sense of humour.
1. The Announcement(s)

Bessie shoveled a spoonful of cereal into her mouth. Monday mornings were the worst, but the sugary crunch of breakfast always made things seem a little better.

When her bowl was empty she rinsed it in the sink, brushed her teeth and grabbed her backpack.

"I packed your favourite for lunch. Have a great day at school, dear!" her mother practically sang as she opened the front door. "Love you!"

"Love you too, Mum," Bessie reciprocated as she closed the door behind her.

There was no such thing as a great day at school. Not in _this_ school. Bessie had heard stories of amazing quirk-oriented high schools overseas where students were hard working, and their quirks were as diverse as their personalities. This was not the case in Ordina City High. No one got along. Every student was like something out of a terrible fanfiction. All of their quirks were dark, somber drivel related to shadows or darkness or blood. Everyone was the edgy emo kid. Anytime the kids would enter a new class chaos ensued because everyone wanted the back left corner. In the hallways most of the fluorescent lights were vandalized or stolen because there weren't enough shadows for everyone to lurk in between classes. At lunch students would stop entering the dining hall once each table had one occupant, and instead everyone would sit outside, under a tree or in the shadow of a building.

Pale or tattooed skin and dyed hair (especially purple) was everywhere. And the principal had a side business, selling all the spray paint he would confiscate from students during routine inspections.

Only Bessie's quirk had anything to do with light.

She sighed as she wiped her feet before entering the front hall. After assembly she dragged herself to homeroom and made her way to her desk. As she put down her school bag she took comfort in the tasty leftovers from last night's fried chicken waiting inside for recess as eagerly as she was.

Her homeroom teacher, Mrs. Lumins, stopped a few steps from the door, drew a deep breath, forced a smile and walked in.

"Good morning boy- er… students!" She said cheerfully. "I hope you all had a fantastic weekend! I have some exciting news!"

Bessie groaned inaudibly. Poor Mrs. Lumins – bless her soul – always fought hard to create a cheerful mood at the beginning of the day. But it was like every student fought equally hard to be the most miserable. Understandably her angel of a teacher went out of her way to make everything seem like the best news ever. Bessie couldn't help but wonder what today's exciting announcement was. _Ten percent off on fizzy drinks at the tuck shop? Extra gravy on the cafeteria's mashed potatoes?_ There was no shortage of good food in OCH, but everyone in the school ate like they were perpetually nauseated, even when they had brought their preferred food from home.

"Our class has been selected as the first to participate in an exchange program with the famous UA in Japan"

The force of Bessie's gasp nearly made her swallow her tongue.

"Everyone please settle down and take your seats!" Tenya called out above the not-too-chaotic buzz of Hero Class 1-A

Katsuki glared at him over the toes of his shoes as their heels rested on his table.

"Bakugo-san, if I've told you once-" the Class Rep began.

"If you tell me once more-" Bakugo interrupted as he sat up, baring his teeth and setting off small warning-explosions in his raised palm.

"Stay calm, Katsuki-chan," Tsuyu croaked levelheadedly. "We're indoors right now. Nobody wants an incident."

"I don't care what you losers want!" Bakugo thundered. "Four-eyes is asking for-!"

"That's enough." Aizawa, the homeroom teacher for Hero Class 1-A, was standing in the doorway. Bakugo's explosions halted abruptly as mild smoke dissipated around his fingers. He grunted as he put his feet back on the floor and turned his attention to the window.

"Aizawa-Sensei!" Iida practically saluted. "On behalf of class 1-A it is good to see you. We are ready for-"

"Yes, yes." The teacher waved his hand as he swiftly made his way to his desk and slumped into the chair. "Before we begin as per normal there is an announcement. Starting this year we have an exchange program with a school in Europe. They'll be sending one of their students here for a week, and obviously we'll be sending them one of ours. Nezu has picked this class for the program and I'm leaving it up to all of you to decide who-"

"Bakugo!" Practically the whole class called out in unison.

"Bastards!" Bakugo protested. "What would I want in some third rate school in the west!? You're all just trying to get rid of me!"

"I'd like you all to give it some thought," the teacher continued in his nonchalant drone. "The fact of the matter is, as this is a class of heroes, this program is an act of heroism on the part of the school as a whole. Bakugo-san's comment about OC High being third rate is not far from the truth. While it isn't a particularly low-income school, the staff have a real problem with morale as the students are all miserable with quirks ranging from the whimsically macabre to the downright depressing. We want to send someone who can show them all how to brighten up a bit. We'll put it to vote tomorrow during homeroom. Between then and now you're all free to discuss it amongst yourselves or decide on your own. Either way it is of great importance that you pick your candidate with careful consideration."

"An entire school of Tokoyamis?" Aoyama quipped. "That sounds positively _fastidieux_!"

"Hey!" Tokoyami retorted. "I'm sitting right here, _baka_!"

Sure enough, when lunch came most of Hero Class 1-A were seated around two tables some of the boys had pushed together. Not all of them were keen to go, but most of them showed up to help with the decisionmaking.

"We shouldn't send any of the girls." Mineta said unashamedly. "Especially not Yaoyorozu. Those guys will just harass her because of the way she dresses."

Momo blushed and anxiously crossed her arms across her ample chest, looking away.

"Not everybody's like you, Mineta." Jiro snarked.

"If this is going to work we should send someone who's friendly, cheerful and gets along with people easily." Midoriya contributed.

"Deku's right." Uraraka nodded. "Someone like Toru or Mina."

"You think so, Ochaco-chan?" Ashido giggled. "I've always wanted to travel abroad!"

"You're a bit lacking in your grades, though, Mina-chan." Tsuyu burst Ashido's proverbial acidic bubble. "A week away from the UA curriculum won't do you any favours."

Mina awkwardly stuck five fingers into her pink head of hair, but couldn't stop smiling. "You've got a point, Tsu," she conceded. "And I guess that rules out Kaminari too."

A few of the kids chuckled while Denki tried to hide his face.

"If Koda-kun goes he could lift the mood with some puppies or something." Toru pointed out. "But I guess you don't need a quirk to bring a dog to school."

Koda made a relieved face.

Tenya stood up and gave his signature I'm-speaking-now gesture. "Sensei said that some of the quirks in OCH are really dangerous. Kirishima gets along with anyone and his hardening could prove quite useful if anything goes wrong."

"I don't think we should send Katsuki, though." Kirishima was the only one with the courage to say it out loud, even though Bakugo was not even seated at either of the company's two tables.

"What's that supposed to mean, Bastard?!" Bakugo 'happened' to overhear him, despite claiming that he had no interest in the conversation. "I said I didn't want to go anyway, so shut up!"

"Whoever we pick," Yaoyorozu continued, "we have until tomorrow morning to decide, and we'll each get to nominate the person we think would be most suited."

For the remainder of the day, each student privately weighed their options, taking into consideration what each person would bring to the table with regards to both quirk and personality. It didn't take a degree in psychology to separate the good candidates from the bad, and this knowledge alone narrowed the options down considerably.

William was standing with his back to a tree. With his hands in the pockets of his grey hoodie he stared grimly into the distance. Bessie came to the tree unable to contain her smile.

"Hey, Bill." She said with unmasked giddiness.

"Beth." Bill said with an unphasedness that almost passed for politeness. "You're looking… cheerful."

"Y'know that UA exchange program Lumins announced this morning? I'm the only one who applied! I'm going to Japan!" she exclaimed excitedly.

William squealed silently without changing his expression. "That's cool. Or whatever." He said like someone who didn't care.

"I know!" Bessie said overflowing with excitement. "I get to take classes from the famous All Might!"

"Beth! Cool off, will ya? You're going to draw attention to us!" William said with a tinge of desperation. "Not that it matters." He added.

"No worries, Bill. I'm gonna go eat my lunch. Later."

"Later. Or not." Bill replied and Bessie walked off.

William Jones was often made aware by his fellow students how exhaustingly ordinary his name was. Regardless of how they felt, he was too young to change it, didn't know what to change it to, and didn't feel like changing it anyway. His aloof, uncaring personality was mostly a front so he could fit in with the rest of the school (or rather, fit out) and it helped that his quirk was close to the sort of thing the school had in spades.

Bessie licked her fingers, stood up from the table and dropped the chicken bones into the rubbish bin nearby. There was still a few minutes left of recess and she used them to make her way to the office to pick up the documents her parents needed to fill out. She carefully closed them in a cardboard folder which she kept as flat and clean as humanly possible until she got them home.

"Mum! I'm home!" she called excitedly once she walked through the doorway.

"Hello darling! How was school?" her mother asked lovingly.

"You'll never guess what happened!" Bessie said with a sparkle in her eyes which her mother had not seen in years.

Once Class 1-A took their seats Momo and Tenya gave each student a piece of paper on which to write their nominee. After being collected again they were handed to Aizawa who counted and recounted them.

"It seems the class has decided," he announced. "The student who will attend OC High for a week will be Hakagure Toru."

" _Yataa!_ " Toru exclaimed amidst congratulatory pats on the back from the students seated around her.

"Alright, settle down." Aizawa continued. "Congratulations on being picked, Hakagure-san. You have a month to get your things in order. You can pick up your forms from me once class is dismissed."

Sure enough, both travelers went through the process of preparing to travel abroad, and when the day came both of them had some teary farewells as they left their airports' respective departure gates and made their ways to their respective aeroplanes. Somewhere in the vast sky above they passed each other by (although this was still with a massive distance between them) and hours later touched down in each-other's home airports.

Bessie disembarked and followed the crowd through the unfamiliar airport. When the corridor finally opened into the arrivals gate she scanned the gathering of strangers for one holding a sign inscribed with her name. Finally she spotted him: he was a tall, thin, blonde haired man with so little mass that he practically looked like a skeleton. Bessie almost thought he could be a parent of one of her schoolmates back home, but instead this person was friendly, and after automatically dipping his head as was the polite greeting in the local culture, he extended a bony hand as was familiar to her.

"Pleased to meet you. My name is Toshinori." The skeletal man smiled as the two shook hands. "Principal Nezu has asked me to pick you up and escort you to UA, which will be your home for the next week. I sincerely hope that you will be happy here."

"Thank you, Toshinori-sama." Bessie reciprocated both gestures. "It is an honour to be a part of this program." Her Japanese was not perfect, but she knew enough to hold simple conversations.

On the subway ride to UA Bessie and Toshinori chatted – awkwardly at first but eventually both conversationalists warmed up to the other – about UA, its students, and the type of teachings Bessie could expect. Once they arrived at the school her new guide showed her to the dormitories where she quickly found her room and settled in. It was a Sunday and most of the students were at home, which meant Bessie did not see any students around. She took a stroll and found a shop where she purchased herself some supper which she enjoyed in the deserted dining hall before heading back to her room and retiring for the night – it was still light outside but she was terribly jetlagged.

She was so excited about what the next day held that she thought she would never fall asleep, but eventually her fatigue caught up with her and her consciousness fizzled out.


	2. Monday (Part 1)

Class 1-A was gathered in Aizawa's class waiting for him to arrive. Normally Tenya would have quieted them down, but they were now excitedly chattering away in anticipation of the exchange student's introduction.

"I wonder if it's someone nice," Uraraka voiced.

"I don't think so. Aizawa said all the kids in OCH are total creeps! I bet they sent us a vampire or something!" Mineta said shakily.

"Nah, they wouldn't send us a vampire… Would they?" Izuku said in a mostly courageous tone.

"It's obviously a total loser." Katsuki said plainly. "This kid couldn't get into UA so it's gotta be some useless nobody with an even lamer quirk."

"We can't say that for certain." Todoroki defended. "The real reason this student doesn't attend UA is because they live abroad."

Finally Aizawa appeared in the doorway with the exchange student in tow. He walked in and sat down at his desk while the student presented herself to the class. She looked unexpectedly plain for someone from a school of "creeps". Her hair was dark brown, her skin had more colour than one would expect of a typical ghoul, and her clothes were surprisingly ordinary.

"I'd like to introduce the exchange student from OCH. This is Baanetto Erisabessu. Is there anything you'd like to say to the class before you take your seat?"

Elizabeth Burnet cringed at the Japanese pronunciation of her name. "You can all call me Bessie! I am very excited to work with all of you!" She stuck her hands up into the air and there was a moment's pause. Everyone looked at her quizzically and her smile faded.

Aizawa finally spoke up: "Did you mean to use your quirk in front of the class for an exciting first impression? I expected as much and took the liberty of erasing it. Please refrain from using your quirk in class unless instructed to do so by a teacher. Take your seat."

Bessie blushed and awkwardly made for her desk, feeling like a multitude of eyes were drilling into her. _Should have kept it simple,_ she thought, somewhat upset with herself. She took her seat in the front row at the rightmost desk. Behind her sat a blond-haired boy with an intimidating stare and to her left a boy with a strange looking body shape. He kept most of his face hidden.

Her ears still felt hot as she put her bag on the floor and pulled in her chair. Just then she heard a voice by her ear.

"Don't worry about it. Aizawa-sensei's actually pretty cool. You'll come to appreciate his methods." It whispered.

She turned her head, but there was no one there. She noticed the strange looking boy had a pair of lips at the end of his… was it an arm? The lips were smiling at her. She shuddered. _Was that thing near my ear?_? Still, taking to heart what the boy told her she couldn't help but see her new teacher in a better light. She found it refreshing that he did not try to force happiness onto his students. The students were perfectly capable of maintaining their feelings naturally. Some of them were angry – like the boy behind her. Some of them were levelheaded – like the boy next to her. On the far side an odd-looking girl who radiated approachability and friendliness stuck out like a sore pink thumb, and behind this girl sat a wide-eyed girl with dark green hair whose expression told Bessie nothing. The whole spectrum was here and it was beautiful.

Eventually the bell sounded and before the class stood up to leave Aizawa raised a hand and most of them quieted down to listen.

"Your last class for the day is with All Might, but he's not here today." He said in his usual toneless voice. "Since Bessie is new here she can decide what to do with the free period."

Bessie could hardly believe her luck. _I'm starting to like this guy already!_

"Please come up to the front and tell us what you'd like to do, Bessie-san."

"Seeing as I will be spending the week with most of you I'd love to get to know you all better." She began.

"She's going to suggest a forced social interaction!" the class chorused in disappointed unison.

"I've always wanted to be in one of those one-on-one battles like you guys had in your sports festival tournament. I saw it on TV and it was so cool! I'd like to take on each of you!" she continued.

"It totally doesn't suck!" The class reacted as one.

"You don't get to do this sort of thing back home?" Jiro asked later in the changeroom as everyone was changing into their hero outfits.

"Nope." Bessie answered, tying her shoelace. "For one thing, most of our quirks are too dangerous. For another, we don't have a nurse like the famous Recovery Girl. Ours only does basic First Aid"

Since Bessie did not have a hero costume she had to resort to her gym clothes. Her measurements had been taken earlier that morning and she hoped to have a fully functional suit later in the week.

"What are the boys here like?" Bessie asked, since she was among girls only.

"Watch out for Mineta." Yaoyorozu answered immediately. "He's… a perv."

"And Bakugo's got a bit of a temper." Uraraka cautioned.

"Other than that the rest of them are all… well… boys." Tsuyu continued. Except for Aoyama. We think he might be-"

Outside Tenya blew on a whistle. "Everybody finish up!" he called toward the changerooms.

"We should get moving," the other class rep pointed out. There were a few last minute costume adjustments and the girls poured out of the change room and assembled on the field where most of the boys were waiting.

"As Bessie requested," Aizawa recapped, "You'll each get a chance to meet her in combat. She's new to this so hold back a little at first. She's also unfamiliar with most of your quirks, so give her an idea of what you can do before you go for the victory. As with the sports festival the object is to get your opponent out of the circle, immobilize them or get them to say 'I give up'. Look sharp and keep it clean."

The first battle was against Koda, and took place on the field where they had assembled. Once they had each taken a place within the circle Tenya blew on his borrowed whistle and the fight started.

"Swarm her!" Koda called out and before Bessie could ready an attack she found herself rushed by a mass of birds. There were gulls, pigeons, Ibises, plovers, and some less common birds. They gathered around Bessie, smashing their small bodies against her in rapid succession, thereby making her unable to focus. She swatted at them, trying to get them out of the way but they kept returning and she was unable to get serious.

"That's enough showing off. Take her out of the circle." Koda said firmly.

The swarm assembled behind Bessie and used their talons to grip her clothes. As more birds took hold and flapped their wings they gradually pulled her into the air and out of the battlefield.

"Hey! No! Put me down!" she grunted as she fought to free herself from the chaos of air and feathers. The next moment she realized that because the birds were now dragging her out of the battlefield they were no longer bombarding her and she could finally get serious. She pointed two palms at the hostile creatures and there was a flare of heat and smoke. Everyone watched in astonishment as the birds that were dragging Bessie a moment ago dropped to the ground. Their feathers singed, they turned around and fled the battle on foot.

Bessie

Quirk: Fireball

She can form fireballs on the palms of her hands and shoot them at her foes. She is able to control the size and heat of the fireball but careless or repeated use can result in burned palms.

Bessie landed stylishly mere inches from the edge of the battlefield and turned a malicious smile toward Koda. She straightened up and readied another fireball.

 _I give up!_ Koda signed with his hands and ran out of the battlefield just in case it wasn't clear.

"Koda surrenders. Bessie wins the first round!" Tenya announced as impromptu referee.

 _So Bessie's quirk creates fire. She's able to shoot fire from her hands but she can't shoot bigger or hotter blasts instantaneously: she needs time to form the ball of fire on her palm before she shoots it out. What's the limit to the intensity of her attack? There's also the Fire Triangle: To maintain a fire you need heat, fuel and oxygen. Does her quirk provide all three of these or just the heat and fuel?_

"Deku, you're muttering." Ochaco said kindly.

The second battle was ready to begin. The circle was drawn on the partially sunken replica ship in the shipwreck zone of USJ (Battlefields were chosen randomly). Bessie stood at one side of the circle and Tsuyu Asui at the other.

"Looks like Tsu lucked out with the draw," Mina observed

"This place has some unpleasant memories for three of us, though," Mineta pointed out.

There was the sound of a whistle and the combatants sprang into action. Literally in Tsuyu's case. She launched herself with a mighty jump dodging Bessie's opening fireball. In mid-air she shot out her powerful tongue which Bessie dodged with a sideways leap. Tsuyu's tongue struck the unstable floor causing it to shake.

Bessie steadied herself and began to power up a bigger fireball. Another lash of Tsuyu's tongue sent her dodging again, but this time as she landed on the shaking boat she rolled on the floor and focused her momentum into her arm, using it to point her charged ball of flame at her opponent and send it forward.

The floor shook again as Tsuyu's slender yet powerful legs propelled her petite body into the air once more. Again her tongue slammed down at Bessie who dodged it. With each beating the terrain received it shook a little more.

"This fight looks like a stalemate." Mina pointed out. "Neither of them is able to land a hit on the other. It's probably coming down to who can hold out the longest."

Midoriya's observation skills were more practiced, however, and he was able to see more of the picture.

"That's not it." He said. "Tsu-chan is playing a different game. Each time the battlefield takes a pounding it loses some stability."

Bessie was now blowing on her palms in-between blasts. The next moment Asui dropped her façade and rapidly and wrecklessly crashed her weight and tongue into the floor. She struck at the battlefield again and again, all the while taking care to avoid fire from her opponent. Finally her strategy paid off and the support structures underneath gave out. The battlefield sank into the water and Tsuyu vanished from Bessie's sight.

Bessie nervously stayed afloat and composed herself. She raised a hand above the water's surface. Steam rose up from her palm before the fireball formed. She was scanning the water below for a sign of her opponent when something curled around her ankle and dragged her under. Once her hand was submerged the fireball disappeared.

Thankfully Tsuyu did not keep Bessie submerged for long. She only pulled her outside the circle before returning her to the surface. The shrill whistle rang through the air and Tsuyu was declared the winner.

"Tsuyu was clever." Tokoyami observed. "She kept a level head and focused on flipping the battle in her favour without being too transparent."

Iida looked at the crudely-drawn chart in his hand and announced the next battle in the typical fashion that made him the effective Class Rep that he was.

"Next battle is with Midoriya Izuku! Everyone please proceed to the stadium!"

\- Next Chapter Monday pt 2: Vs Midoriya, Yaoyorozu, Mineta and Iida


	3. Monday (Part 2)

_I've seen this kid around._ Bessie thought. Her opponent looked confident, but not intimidating. This was the boy who spent his efforts observing and analyzing. She figured if he relied this much on strategy his quirk probably wasn't physically too powerful. She figured wrong.

At the sound of the whistle he basically doubled in size and green sparks flared around his limbs. _Now_ he looked intimidating.

Deku punched at the ground, sending a tremor at his opponent. The floor shook under Bessie throwing her off balance but she managed to stay upright. Midoriya used this moment of distraction to quickly circle around Bessie and put her in a hold, but she wasn't having it. She placed each of her hands on her attacker and singed his arms, causing him to let go. Bessie charged up two fireballs and while they were still forming on her hands she swung them at Izuku, who used his powerful legs to launch himself out of her reach.

While Midoriya was in the air Bessie sent her two fireballs up after him. They connected.

Midoriya landed, clutching his shoulder.

"That hurt." He said. "Your quirk is really cool."

"I'm just getting warmed up. If you'll pardon the pun." She replied.

Bessie fired a few more shots but this time Izuku was ready for them. Using short bursts he shot himself sideways to dodge each one. He then closed the gap between himself and his opponent but diverged at the last minute in anticipation of a more powerful blast.

"You're a rare case." Bessie observed. "You rely on both raw power and strategy. I probably won't beat you, but that won't stop me from trying my hardest. Your quirk makes you a powerful opponent in close quarters, so as long as I can stay out of your reach I'm at an advantage."

"You're right." Midoriya affirmed. "If I can't reach you I can't beat you. But my reach is longer than you realize."

The next moment Izuku wound up a punch which he unleashed with a shout of "Smaaaash!" as his arm lit up with an unusual glow. Midoriya's swing created a powerful blast of wind which temporarily drained the air around Bessie making her unable to create fire. In this moment Midoriya launched himself toward Bessie, lifted her off the ground and set her down outside the circle. The pierce of Iida's now familiar whistle sounded and the fight was over.

"Good fight." Bessie said when her breath returned. "Did I burn you bad?"

"It's nothing." Deku shrugged. "Recovery Girl will fix me right up."

"You were amazing, Deku!" Uraraka admired. "You too, Bessie! I can't wait for my turn to fight you!"

"Ochaco-san said I was amazing!" Deku whimpered when he thought she couldn't hear him.

The next battle was ready to begin. Tenya summoned Minoru and Bessie to the same battlefield as the previous one.

 _So this is Mineta._ Bessie thought, eyeing the small person in front of her and remembering Momo's warning from earlier.

Once the battle started Mineta grabbed a multitude of his sticky growths and set them down in a mound. He then grabbed another one and threw it at Bessie.

Bessie, not knowing what it was and witnessing Mineta handle them like they were harmless, made the mistake of catching it. Once it was stuck to her hand she made the second mistake of trying to pull it off with her other hand. It dawned on her that her hands were now stuck together.

Mineta's small frame darted across the battlefield and shot past Bessie before turning round. Slamming into her back, he gradually pushed her toward the mound where he hoped to immobilize her.

 _Focus, Bessie! Think! First thing you need to do is free your hands. If you can't pull them apart, maybe…_

She made a small, intense fireball in each hand. The purple ball gluing them together dried up and crumbled. Bessie quickly parted her hands before they suffered any damage of their own and released her charged attack harmlessly into the sky. Mineta realized this a split second to late, and as he stormed Bessie she grabbed him, swung him round with his own momentum and hurled him out of the circle.

"Mineta-san is ejected from the circle!" Iida announced. "Bessie-san is the winner!"

Mineta stood up, dusted himself off and walked towards Bessie. "That was really cool! Great move!" he extended a hand in congratulations.

Bessie advanced to return the gesture. Just as the two neared each other Minoru's right foot struck his left heel and he fell forward, but his hand kept advancing. Bessie realized this and as quickly as a striking viper she grabbed Mineta's wrist, halting both his advance and his fall. She lifted him in this grip until his eyes were level with hers.

"Not with me, you don't." she said firmly. She swung him over her head and set him down on the Pop-Off mound he had set down earlier. He bounced high into the air, and at the apex of his bounce he was bombarded with a barrage of fireballs which Bessie shot at him without even looking. When Mineta hit the ground again a painful lesson was ringing in his ears.

"You got that?" Bessie asked, standing over him. He raised a shaky, smoking 'thumbs-up' which flopped back to the ground again. A few of the onlooking girls stifled some snickers.

Next was Yaoyorozu. They were situated in the facility where Tsuyu and Tokoyami had their practical exam. Once the fight was underway Bessie shot a blast at Momo which she blocked using a pair of oven gloves.

"Oven mitts?" Bessie snarked. "That's random. What's your hero name? Super Trophy Wife?"

Bessie sent a few more quick blasts, which Yaoyorozu kept blocking, but the attacker kept increasing her intensity and before long the oven gloves caught fire and Creati had to toss them aside.

"Gotcha!" Bessie gloated and began to form a much larger fireball.

"Not quite!" Yaoyorozu retorted, pulling a small fire extinguisher from her leg and quickly dousing Bessie before her fireball could reach maximum size. She turned relatively pale and desperately attempted a few more fireballs, but because she was caked in white powder from the extinguisher and surrounded by nitrogen nothing happened. Momo stepped in close, seized her by the shoulders and tripped her with a heel, making her land outside the circle. Another fight was over.

"Another battle completed! Yaoyorozu is the winner!" Tenya announced "Your next opponent will be me!"

Tenya rinsed his whistle in a glass of water and handed it to Yaoyorozu, who draped it around her neck and directed the crowd to the Downpour Zone in USJ.

Bessie shivered in the cold of the Downpour Zone. _This place is a double edged sword for my quirk,_ she thought. _The cold water will keep my hands from burning, but it'll also make it difficult to create fireballs. Add the fact that my opponent has been watching each of my battles carefully, and I'd better watch myself._

"Begin!" Yaoyorozu called out above the pouring water. Bessie strained a fireball into her hand which hissed and flickered and when she threw it it barely traveled a foot before disappearing. Tenya zipped past her, tripping her up. She stuck out her arms, breaking her fall in the puddle-depth water. She stood up shaking the water from her drenched fingers. As she was trying to create another fireball her opponent shot past her again, this time striking her forehead with an extended forearm. She fell on her back with a splash. Again she struggled to her feet, unable to see her opponent, partly due to the torrential darkness and partly due to his blinding speed. In an attempt to light up her surroundings she fought to create a fireball as bright as possible, but this time she heard her opponent before she could see him.

"Recipro… BURST!"

Tenya's foot caught Bessie square in the gut, knocking out her wind. She doubled over and collapsed face down into the water.

"Looks like the vic-" Momo began, but quieted down when Bessie put up a shaking hand in a 'wait!' gesture.

Straining her neck, she raised her face above the water, heaving to get her breath back. Tenya motioned to grab her arm and place her outside the circle but a blast from her quirk served double duty, escaping Tenya's grasp and flipping her onto her back: her face was now above the water.

Iida moved to seize her again but this time a blast from both hands sent Bessie into the air. As she came down she landed the ball of her foot on the back of his head. Tenya reeled as Bessie recomposed herself.

Consistent downpour of water meant Tenya's engine cooled down much more quickly than usual following his Recipro Burst. In no time at all he was ready to use his quirk again. Going back to the strategy that worked, Tenya shot past Bessie once more, extending a foot to trip her again. Although he landed a successful hit, Bessie now anticipated his move and used a fireball recoil to keep from falling over.

Expecting the same pattern as before, Bessie ducked and stuck out her own foot. Her expectation paid off and as Iida came past he was now the one to trip. Because of his inhuman speed he landed on the surface of the water, skidded across it and came to a halt outside the circle.

"An astonishing comeback!" Yaoyorozu announced. "Bessie is the winner!"

Iida came to his feet. "I didn't see that one coming. Very well done," he said. "Are you alright?"

Besssie put a hand on her stomach and gave a few more deep breaths. "Yeah, I think so. You hit hard!" she exclaimed, sounding more impressed than in pain.

"It comes with the quirk." He explained. "Sorry about that, Bessie-san" Iida lowered his head respectfully.

"No worries." Bessie comforted. "This is the sort of thing a hero needs to learn how to handle sooner or later."

Next chapter – vs Uraraka, Kaminari, Bakugo and Ashido


	4. Monday (Part 3)

Momo had returned Tenya's whistle and he now resumed his role as referee. The next battle was against Denki Kaminari on a plain, grassy battlefield.

"Bessie's quirk puts Kaminari at a slight advantage." Yaoyorozu's knowledge of matter gave her a minor insight. "Fire is made up of air in plasma phase, which makes it an excellent conductor of electricity. Moreover, fire is rich in positive ions. If he holds a positive charge of his own, he can divert fireballs away from himself."

"I wonder if he knows that." Kyoka mused.

As it turned out, Denki was unaware that he was able to divert Bessie's fireballs, but it did not take him very long to discover it for himself.

"This is so cool!" he exclaimed as he sent back Bessie's attacks as quickly as they came.

After a while of toying with Bessie's attacks and missing a few of his own, Kaminari decided it was time for his trump card. He hastened to more or less the center of the battlefield, arched his arms over his head and let the sparks fly.

"Idiot" is not a particularly polite word, but no other word does Kaminari justice after releasing his maximum power. With two thumbs in the air he carelessly shambled outside the boundaries of the circle. An action that would have cost him the victory had Bessie not fainted from electric shock a few seconds earlier.

"Kaminari wins the battle!" Tenya announced. "…and Bessie's out cold…" he added.

Aizawa brought Bessie back around and sent her to Recovery Girl for a quick check-up. He also picked up her glasses – which were fortunately undamaged – and handed them to her. Soon after she was ready for the next battle which was against Katsuki Bakugo.

 _This is the scary boy who sits behind me._ Bessie thought. _I hope I don't get on his bad side._ So intimidating was her opponent that Bessie considered throwing the match just to be safe, but decided against it, thinking it a better idea to treat him like anyone else.

Bakugo paid no mind to Aizawa-sensei's instruction to go easy on Bessie at first.

"DIIEEE!" he shouted as he thrust an exploding hand at Bessie the moment the battle started. It frightened her so much that she shot backward, only just missing the impact of the blast.

 _This guy's intense!_ Bessie thought, racing through her mind for a strategy. Keeping her distance she looked him up and down for the slightest hint of a weakness. _Grenades at his belts. What are those things on his wrists? This guy's armed to the teeth! What do I do?_

Much like Izuku had done before, Bakugo surprised Bessie with his range: He reached out a fist and fired explosive liquid from the device mounted just behind his hand. The liquid landed near Bessie's feet where it detonated. Thanks to the nature of Bessie's quirk she was used to minor burns. Had it not been for that the pain would have compelled her to surrender. She gritted her teeth and kept at it, avoiding the next explosion by a hair.

This new information gave Bessie an idea, and using small fireballs to keep Katsuki on his toes she kept her distance and bode her time, watching carefully for the moment he was ready to fire at her again. When he stuck out his hand she did the same, and a precision fireball went straight into the nozzle of Bakugo's weapon. It exploded marvelously, right at the end of his forearm.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Katsuki roared at the sight of his hand after it tanked such an intense explosion – and the pain that accompanied it – "YOU FOUR-EYED FREAK! I'll KILL YOU!"

Knowing better than to open his other hand up to the same danger he rushed at Bessie attempting to use his quirk normally, but since he was missing the use of his dominant hand he was notably less coordinated. Bessie sidestepped his advance but he drove his knee into her side. She curled in pain and he grabbed her arm, ready to swing her round and toss her out of the battlefield.

A fireball to the back forced Katsuki to release Bessie before he had worked up an adequate swing. She embraced what little force Bakugo _had_ worked up and created distance between herself and her opponent.

"DIIEEE!" Bakugo screamed again, charging at Bessie with another blast from his left hand. This time, instead of sidestepping Bessie jumped, and propelled herself further into the air with two downward-aimed fireballs. As she cleared her attacker she launched an aerial kick backward which caught him in the back and sent him hurtling out of the battlefield. Once he realised what had happened he roared his disappointment at the clouds while setting off large, dangerous explosions.

 _This is it._ Bessie thought. _This is how I die._

Just then Bakugo's explosions died down under Aizawa's dead-eyed gaze. The boy scoffed, stood up, and headed for the nurse's office. Bessie felt relieved, but her heart was still pounding in her throat.

The next battle took place in the industrial-looking environment where Denki and Mina had their practical exam, and as these coincidences go, Bessie was to face Mina.

Tenya started the battle and Mina immediately slid forward on her acid. The sudden, rapid advance took Bessie by surprise and she stuck out her hands to brace for the collision. Mina, too, stuck out her hands and the met with Bessie's not entirely unlike the double high-five. A fairly goofy opening move, but it was thought out well in advance.

Mina pushed herself off Bessie's hands, giving her a silly smile-and-wave as she glided backwards in the direction from which she came. Immediately Bessie became aware of a tingling on her hands where they had met with Ashidos. The tingle quickly intensified into a sting and Bessie desperately brushed the acid off of her hands using the floor underfoot. The skin on her palms were red and it felt like they were on fire. Bessie readied a fireball but her sensitized skin made the heat unbearable. Bessie's quirk was basically disabled. She kicked off her shoes and removed her socks. Turning the latter partially inside-out she covered her hands with them so she at least had two layers of protection now that she had to face Ashido in hand-to-hand combat. Unfortunately for Bessie this was one of Mina's stronger suits – she could even hold her own against a few boys – and after nimbly dodging a few punches Mina gripped Bessie, threw a trail of mild, slippery acid, and pushed her opponent over, sending her across the slippery surface and out of the field. Again Tenya declared the winner and again Bessie took the familiar walk to Recovery Girl's office, but this time she met with Bakugo half way there. She froze in fear and had to strain herself to keep from shaking, but Bakugo just glared at her and kept walking. When Bessie was certain she was in the clear Katsuki's familiar voice thundered behind her.

"Hey, fire freak!"

Fear gripped Bessie anew and she slowly turned to face Katsuki's intimidating scowl.

"Y-yes… Bakugo-san..?" Bessie quivered.

"I'm not losing to you again! So don't you dare hold back next time, you hear me?!"

An old-lady-kiss and a walk back later Bessie returned to find Uraraka waiting in the circle. Her large eyes glittering with excitement and her mouth in an uncontrollable grin.

"It's finally my turn, Bessie-chan!" she squealed.

At the sound of the whistle Ochaco's face shifted to a determined glare. Like lightning she shot toward Bessie, spun to avoid her opening fire and put a hand on her extended arm. The next moment Bessie lifted off the ground and slowly drifted into the air.

"Wh-what's going on? Why am I flying?" she asked aloud.

 _Do what you can, Bessie. You've still got your reach._

Bessie shot a fireball but the recoil sent her hurtling backwards. Just before she passed over the border she realised what was happening and steadied herself with another fireball in the opposite direction.

 _Interesting._ Bessie thought. _I should use this._

Aiming a fireball into the air Bessie charged toward Ochaco. Gripping Uraraka she launched the pair of them into the air again, ready to push off against her opponent just as they neared the edge of the field. Of the two of them, gravity only affected Uraraka but Bessie still had her inertia. The net effect was falling at roughly half the normal rate of speed.

Uraraka realised what Bessie was planning and quickly released her antigravitational hold. Both girls plummeted the short distance back to earth. Back on solid ground, as Bessie motioned to get her opponent into a hold, Ochaco shot into the air and drifted out of Bessie's reach. Bessie watched her carefully, purposely missing a few shots and feigning frustration until the time was right. She shot a fireball at Uraraka that would have connected for certain. Realising this, Ochaco released herself and returned to solid ground, playing right into Bessie's hands. Bessie charged at the point Uraraka would have landed and dove, catching Uraraka in mid-air. The two of them landed outside the circle.

"Both combatants are outside of the battlefield!" Tenya announced. "However as it is due to Bessie's well-timed dive, Uraraka was out first and Bessie is the winner!"

Next chapter: vs Sero, Kirishima, Tokoyami and Todoroki


	5. Monday (Part 4)

At the sound of the whistle Bessie's fight against Kirishima began. Bessie was quick to shoot a fireball at him, but his skin turned to rock and he shrugged it off like it was nothing. She shot another and he did the same. He gradually began to advance toward Bessie and her heart sank. Slowly inching backward she shot a few more fireballs to no avail. Finally, realizing her quirk would not help her she approached him head on and tried to overpower him with strength.

 _Bad idea._

She took him by the wrists but couldn't move him. Instead, his rock-like arms moved freely and Bessie's efforts were as nothing. She let go and tried to get away but Kirishima grabbed _her_ arm instead and she was unable to wrestle free. Bessie struggled as Kirishima dragged her effortlessly and placed her outside the circle without breaking a sweat.

"That was… _unfairly_ OP!" Bessie half-complained, rubbing her arm.

"It depends on the situation," Kirishima said humbly. "I lucked out with your quirk."

The next battle was against Sero. Right at the start of the fight he quickly fired his tape at Bessie, who promptly set it alight. The organic adhesive burned rapidly and Sero had to keep ejecting more tape to prevent the fire from reaching him. He was so frightened at what would happen if the flames reached the roles inside his elbows that it did not even occur to him to detach his tape. Meanwhile the battlefield gradually filled up with the burning substance. When it finally occurred to him that he could easily release the tape he did so, but he was backed to the edge of the circle with nowhere to go.

"Poor Hanta-kun. Put out of action before he could get serious once again." Ashido commented.

"Such is his curse." Tokoyami added. "And with that, it looks like it's my turn."

The battle against Tokoyami was inside a massive hall with wooden decorations and lanterns hanging overhead. As soon as the fight started Tokoyami put the living shadow creature that was his quirk into action.

"Dark Shadow! Get the lights!" Dark Shadow shot out and extinguished most of the lanterns (But not all of them, as this would have made it dangerous even for Tokoyami himself). The battlefield was draped into a mild darkness, making Tokoyami's dark, bird-like head and his black cloaked body difficult to see.

Bessie had to dive aside to escape the swooping shadow monstrosity.

 _If he doesn't need light to fight me, then as long as it's dark I'm at a disadvantage._ She thought. She used a fireball to cast some light around her and sought out the wooden carvings around her. As soon as she spotted one she shot at it and the battlefield was illuminated. As a result, Dark Shadow's power lessened and the next time Bessie ducked it she noticed it was considerably less scary-looking.

 _So the darker it is, the more powerful he is!_ She realised. _In that case, let's light the place up!_

She stuck out her hands and spun round on the toes of her right foot, shooting fireballs at anything that would burn. Soon the battlefield was bathed in so much light that Dark Shadow was no bigger than Tokoyami himself. But he was not ready to give up. The shadow creature stormed Bessie one more time but she held the brightest fireball she could manage out in front of her. Dark Shadow started at the harsh light and fled, dragging Tokoyami out of the battlefield in the process. Bessie had racked up another victory.

Bessie's next opponent caught her eye. And held it.

"Next Battle! Bessie versus Todoroki Shoto!"

 _I remember this kid from the sports festival on TV. He has ice powers on his one side and fire powers on the other. He acts fast, but if I can act faster… So handsome… Focus, Bessie!_

When the battle started Bessie fired as soon as she could, but Todoroki surrounded her with a layer of ice. She hastily bombarded the barrier with her fire but as soon as she broke through Shoto created another one. This one, too, was melted down quickly and again she found herself faced with a large wall of ice.

Melting through Todoroki's gigantic ice walls was no small feat, and by the third one Bessie could really feel the familiar sting of overuse. For some quick relief she pressed her palms against the ice that remained. An idea that her opponent was expecting. With expert swiftness Todoroki sent out a fourth, smaller surge of ice. This one only cemented Bessie's hands to the surface where they rested, and as there was no oxygen around them Bessie could not get them free.

"Bessie has been immobilized! Todoroki wins!"

Bessie struggled, trying to pull her hands free. "That's some powerful quirk." She remarked.

"Here. Let me help." Todoroki offered. He placed his left hand on the ice that was keeping Bessie stuck and it gradually began to melt away. Standing so close to Shoto she couldn't help but giggle like a schoolgirl (not to mention the fact that she _was_ a school girl).

Bessie went through the remaining battles in a wistful haze. Some of them she won, others she lost. Nothing could tear her thoughts away from Shoto. At times he appeared in her mind's eye astride a horse and dressed like a prince. Once the day was over her head met her pillow and she sighed dreamily as she drifted into a sugary slumber.


	6. Tuesday

_Breath stopped at 5AM, like a permeating calm  
Biting my nails at the emergency exit – which way is tomorrow?_

Bessie yawned and silenced her alarm. She dressed herself for school, had a quick breakfast, brushed her teeth and left for homeroom.

Her second day of school at UA was much like her first, only now she more-or-less knew her classmates. As for the subjects themselves, in English class it felt like she was back in pre-school, however Japanese was notably more advanced than the crash course she took before the trip.

Finally lunch time came. After picking up her plate of food she scanned the dining hall until she noticed the table where much of class 1A was seated. She scanned the place a bit longer so it wouldn't look like she was particularly eager, then she slowly made her way toward the semi-familiar crowd, trying to build up courage along the way.

She marveled at the sight of children sitting together. This never happened back home.

"H-hey guys… room for one more?"

Aoyama noticed her intensions and decided to lend a hand. Kaminari was in the unfortunate position of being seated next to Todoroki.

"Denki-chan, this _mad'moiselle_ is from the west. Show her some European chivalry so she'll feel more at home."

The next moment Aoyama yanked the chair out from underneath Kaminari and he hit the ground in a fraction of a second. Denki stood up, awkwardly rubbing his tailbone and took a different seat.

"There you are, _mon cheri_." Aoyama said, politely gesturing toward the now empty chair next to Shoto.

Bessie took her seat, trying her hardest not to blush. "H-how's your day been so far, Todoroki-kun?" she asked nervously.

"It's been pretty good." Shoto answered. "Always nice to be among friends."

It didn't take long until Bessie was comfortable enough to chat away with the rest of the table like she belonged there. Lunch hardly seemed to last five minutes, in accordance with the old saying.

Finally the day's final lesson came. At last Bessie was able to take her long awaited class from All Might.

"Bessie. A moment." Aizawa called her aside en route to her highly anticipated lesson.

"What can I do for you, Sensei?" she asked nervously.

"For me? Nothing at the time" He answered. "It's about your hero outfit. They finally finished it. Here you are."

Aizwa handed Bessie a package. It was heavier than she had expected.

"They made some alterations to eliminate your quirk's drawback. The gloves are made of a durable gauze. Canisters have been mounted to the shoulders that dispense tea tree oil keeping the gloves soaked in the stuff once their temperature reaches a certain point."

"Why is that?" Bessie asked.

"Tea tree oil is highly effective for both preventing and treating burns. As long as you haven't run out you'll be able to use your quirk as freely and carelessly as you want without having to fear damage. You're finally able to Go Beyond. Plus Ultra."

Bessie's eyes glittered at the sight of her hero suit. It wasn't exactly what she wanted: it was even _better_.

"Arigato, Sensei!" she said with a bow and rushed to her next class.

"Today we will have a lesson in villain pursuit." The famous hero was even larger than Bessie imagined. He paced confidently while he spoke and the sheer mass of his presence alone was like the sun at the center of the solar system, drawing attention like planets through the raw power of his figurative gravity. "You will be divided into groups of two," he continued. "One of you will be the villain, who had just stolen a valuable artifact." He stuck his hand into his pocket and produced a miniature, gold-coloured Lucky Cat figurine. "The villain will get a five second head start and must either evade capture or escape the boundaries of the course. Obviously, the other member of the group will be the hero. The hero must either capture the villain or recover the treasure before the time runs out or the villain escapes."

As coincidence would have it, Bessie and Shoto were placed in the same group, with Bessie as the hero and Shoto as the villain. All Might handed Shoto the figurine and at a call of "Begin" he was off, but not before dropping "Loser pays for dinner and a movie tomorrow night!" to his pursuer.

Even if Shoto did not get a five second head start it would not have made a difference, because that was exactly how long Bessie stood dumbfounded by his parting words.

"Pursue!" All Might called out as he pressed a button on a stopwatch and Bessie dashed off after Todoroki.

The play-villain left ice in his wake in an attempt to slow down his pursuer, but Bessie, now able to use her quirk without limitation, created fireballs at the upper limit of her power. These were blue in colour and were so intense that they burst through the thick layers of ice like they were nothing. Realising this, Todoroki instead turned his focus to running and pounded for the exit as fast as he could.

Bessie stuck her hands backward and now used her quirk to speed herself forward. She quickly made her way toward the temporary antagonist and grabbed his shoulder.

After the other students had their turns with the exercise All Might took a moment to discuss their use of quirks.

"Baaneto-san. Using backward-aimed fireballs to help propel you forward is an effective method of pursuit in an isolated, stable environment. However, in a real-world setting you need to consider a few things first. If you're not careful you could set fire to someone's property, and paying compensation for collateral damage from a hero is almost always the hero's responsibility. On the other hand, if you took advantage of your range and set fire to your quarry's footwear, you can severely hamper their escape, thereby ending the chase more swiftly and with less effort while drastically eliminating the risk of collateral damage.

This school was so different from the one back home. She didn't attend because everyone who knows the world told her she needs to learn if she wanted a future. She WANTED to learn. The teachers were teachers, not to earn a living but to shape the future of the world – that is to say the children.

 _Why can't we have a UA back home?_ Bessie asked herself at the end of the day just as she was fading into sleep. _Why can't I have a Shoto Todoroki back home..?_


	7. Wednesday

More than anything Bessie wanted the day to be over, but she still took delight in each and every class. During lunch she sat with her classmates – no, her friends – and got to know them better. The practical lesson at the end of the day was basic rescue training with Thirteen, where each student had a chance to retrieve dummies from a simulated hazardous environment – something that proved tricky with a quirk like Bessie's. While her quirk could make do for an effective weapon, it wasn't something that could be used to remove someone from a dangerous situation, unless it was a very particular dangerous situation.

Some students used their quirks effectively to complete the exercise quickly. Izuku and Uraraka were both able to carry multiple dummies effortlessly thanks to their quirks. Ashido and Kirishima were both able to reach the exit quickly by using their quirks to make shortcuts through the walls – Ashido by melting them down and Kirishima by busting through them.

Then there were some students who missed the point a little. Sero cocooned multiple dummies in tape and dragged them to the exit. Sato, after eating enough candy to lift a ridiculous amount of realistically weighted dummies over his head, proceeded to do so. But due to his quirk's drawback he ran rather carelessly and the dummies hit a few doorways and other obstructions on their way out. Then there was Bakugo, who had no problem carrying two dummies at a time, but for the sake of time stopped on the far side of the last corridor before the exit and used his quirk to launch the dummies the rest of the way, not forgetting to call out his signature " _die!_ " while doing so.

Afterwards Thirteen addressed some of the students regarding their use of quirks in rescue missions, focusing on the ones that required more attention. Specifically the ones that were more suited for destruction than safety.

"Bessie-san," Thirteen said upon reaching Bessie's name in the notes. "A Quirk like yours is limited in the field of rescue. Even dangerous quirks like Bakugo's and my own can be used to clear debris from an exit, but since yours has little kinetic effect it is not the case for you. Nonetheless, I don't want you to dismiss your quirk in the rescue field altogether. Fire can still be used to prevent hypothermia or see your way out of a dark environment to name but two. When assessing a situation, try to be creative and think outside of the proverbial box, but also exercise extreme caution."

Bessie was learning valuable lessons. Even if some of them were simple and seemed obvious when one thought about it. Attending UA made her quirk feel like a tool with many uses rather than a flashy box of matches. It was no wonder UA was the top hero school and had been producing so many excellent superheroes since decades before.

Finally dinner time arrived and Bessie met Shoto at a place that was quiet and had a relaxed atmosphere. It was not particularly classy, but had more taste than your typical fast food chain restaurant. The conversation started off light and not particularly meaningful – the look of the place, what type of food they served, and the like, but later moved onto deeper topics, like likes and dislikes, Bessie's life back home and eventually, Todoroki's quirk.

"So what's with your quirk?" Bessie asked. "You have both fire and ice but I hardly ever see you use fire. Why is that?"

Todoroki looked a bit awkward but felt compelled to answer, feeling like he could trust Bessie. "It's a bit of a family history thing. I got my fire half from my dad, and there were some issues between us. It's still not completely worked out but I've more or less come to terms with things. There was a time I refused to use my fire half in combat at all, but I'm getting used to using it."

Bessie blushed and couldn't help but giggle at the thought that popped into her head following Shoto's answer.

"What? What is it?" Bessie's laughter made Todoroki feel slightly entertained himself.

"Oh… It's nothing…" She said awkwardly, but feeling close enough to her companion to speak her mind. "I just had this silly idea come to mind: My quirk is fire, like half of yours. It… kinda' feels like I'm the other half you've been missing for most of your life."

Once the words were in the open they didn't sound quite as lighthearted as they did in Bessie's head. For a moment Todoroki sat frozen in his seat, his eyes wide and his mouth agape. Then his expression hardened into a scowl.

"Your quirk is unsightly!" he snapped and stood up from the table. He stopped at the cashier and paid for the food like he had promised, and the next moment he was gone.

Bessie remained seated for a moment, stunned at the harsh words that jutted from her heart like a spear made of anger. Her breaths quickened and a painful lump formed in her throat.

"Can I get these to go, please?" she quivered at the waitress.

Bessie choked back her tears as everything around her faded into a salty blur. She made her way back to her dorm as quickly as she could. As soon as she entered her room she dropped faced-down into her bed, soaking her pillow through muffled sobs.

It was still early in the evening but Bessie had no desire to interact with the outside world. She dug her earphones out of her bag, connected them to her cellphone and lined up all the sad songs she could find. For the first time in her life she wouldn't have seemed out of place back in OC High. She spent the rest of the night lying on her bed, trying not to think about anything. Least of all how she was to face whatever challenges the next day held.


	8. Thursday

_What's the matter, sweetheart? Did you have another bad day at school?_

 _I was with this really cute boy and I said the nicest thing I could think of, but it came out weird and he just flipped._

 _Cheer up, miss Burnet. Life's way too short to go around feeling sorry for yourself all the time. Why don't we look for reasons to be happy instead?_

 _Like what? I was on a date with a total dreamboat and I blew it. I bet he'll never speak to me again. I really thought we could be each other's other halves, too._

 _Were you expecting too much again, Beth? I thought you knew better than that. Foolish kid._

 _Breath stopped at 5AM, like a permeating calm  
Biting my nails at the emergency exit – which way is tomorrow?  
The da-_

Bessie groaned. It barely felt like she had gotten any sleep at all.

The inside of her mouth tasted offputtingly salty and her pallet was dry and sticky. She was parched. She grabbed a bottle of water from her mini-fridge and as the cold liquid spread throughout her insides the rest of her started waking up.

 _Was I dreaming? Who was I talking to? What were we saying?_

 _Oh, that's right. I'm attending the best school in the world and I can't even show my face anymore._

She readied herself for school and walked as quickly as she could. She kept her eyes toward the ground so she would not make eye contact with anyone. She hoped it would keep her from being noticed. Classes came and went and during recess she stayed out of the dining hall. There were things she needed to say and other things she needed to hear, but her mind felt like a thick fog and more than anything she just wanted to get the day over and done with so she could go back to sleep.

The practical lesson was with Present Mic and took place in a dense forest just outside the boundaries of the school grounds. As the class stood assembled on the forest's edge Present Mic began explaining the point of the exercise.

"All right, everybody!" he called out above the murmur of chatting students. "Sometimes a rescue mission or a chase can go wrong, and you can end up stranded, at the mercy of the elements. Today we will assess how good you are at finding your way back to civilization. We're splitting you up into groups of two or three and dropping you off in random spots in the forest."

The teacher began to divide the class into groups.

"Ashido and Yaoyorozu with Tsuyu. Mineta with Kaminari. Midoriya with Uraraka and Iida. Bakugo with Kirishima."

 _Please not Shoto. Please not Shoto. Please not Shoto…_

"…Baaneto with Hanta."

 _Thank goodness._

The teacher went on until each student had one or two partners.

"E'rybody ready? Le'me hear ya say 'HEY'!"

Just as the teams were being separated the grim looking girl heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Bessie-san!"

"T… Todoroki..?" she struggled.

"I looked for you at lunch time but I couldn't find you anywhere. I need to talk to you."

"You… were looking for me?"

"I wanted to apologise for last night. I was caught off guard in the middle of some painful reminders. I perceived your comment as more insensitive than you meant it. I understand now that you meant no offence. _Gomen nasai._ "

The fog cleared and Bessie's dream from the previous night came back to her.

"I'm sorry too," she answered. "I get it now. A relationship is not about finding another half to complete you and it's even less about being miserable when things don't go your way. It's about being your whole self for someone else."

"Now that we've both had a chance to understand ourselves better, I believe I still owe you a movie." Shoto said with a grin. "Saturday night okay with you?"

"I'd love t-"

The next moment the groups were separated and Bessie was among densely packed trees with the tape-elbow boy.

" **Staaaaart!** " Present Mic's voice blasted through the forest.

"I can use my tape to get above the trees and find the quickest way out." Sero offered.

"Sounds good." Bessie obliged.

He shot some of his tape at a branch in one of the higher trees and swung into the air. He remained airborne long enough to get a good view of his surroundings.

"We should go that way." Sero said once he touched ground again.

After walking for a few minutes they passed by a rather large tree and Bessie felt a hand covering her mouth. She tried to squirm free but she was being gripped in a powerful hold. Sero gasped.

"Make a sound and I'll snap her in two." The attacker threatened.

"Let her go!" Sero demanded. "You don't know who you're dealing with."

"I know _exactly_ who I'm dealing with. Which is why I need a hostage. Now be a good couple of kids and come with me to- _OUCH!_ "

The stranger let go of Bessie and blew on his singed forearms. She took a stance beside Sero and the two of them readied for a fight.

 _I just patched things up with Todoroki. I'm not about to become a damsel in distress! I hate when they do that in movies!_ Bessie thought.

"I'm pretty sure this isn't part of the lesson. Do you think he's with the League of Villains?" she asked.

"He just looks like a small-timer to me," Hanta ventured. "But he could still be dangerous. We should be careful."

"No worries. I'll _torch_ this punk." Bessie said to her companion.

"No! You'll set fire to the forest!" Sero argued. "I say we see what he can do and work it out from there."

The attacker crossed his arms in front of his ribcage and produced two small white blades. A light bulb went up inside Bessie's head.

"He can make weapons out of nothing?" Sero observed.

"Not quite. But I know how to beat him. Can you use your tape to grab his weapons?"

"I can try." Sero fired a stream of tape at each blade. Fortuitously they curled around their targets and he pulled them out of the villain's grip.

The villain grumbled, brought his wrists together and produced two more weapons. These were notably longer than his previous two and were of the blunt force variety, not unlike a pair of batons.

"Grab those, too!" Bessie advised and Sero snatched them up.

The stranger's eyes flared. He reached down, stopping half a foot short of his ankles and produced two larger batons. He rushed at the pair of children, flailing his weapons. They managed to circle him.

"Do it again!" Bessie urged and Sero used his tape to disarm the foe once more.

The villain looked nervous but infuriated. He put his hand by his side and pulled out a large, two-handed club. He took a leap at the two students and swung sideways but they were able to dodge.

"Grab it?" Sero asked expectantly.

"Yup." Bessie said with a grin.

After being disarmed the attacker's expression changed to one of helplessness and he scanned for an escape route. Sero fired more tape which curled around the opponent's arms and legs and brought him down.

"We should probably turn him in." Bessie suggested.

It turned out the small-time villain had hoped to make his fortune by holding UA students for ransom. He had tried to single out what he thought was the weaker of the bunch but he didn't count on anyone understanding his quirk. Bessie and Sero were awarded bonus points for their impromptu success at facing off against a villain in addition to making it out of the forest timeously.

When Bessie returned to her dorm room her bed still wasn't made, her pillow still smelled of salt and her earphones still lay tangled on her bed.

 _Funny how things can just turn out okay_ , she thought.


	9. Friday

With the universe back in balance, Bessie had a presence in class again. She was rapidly getting the hang of learning in Japanese and she could even give Present Mic a run for his money in English class as it was her native language.

At lunch time Bessie quickly reclaimed her seat among the group.

"Bessie-chan, you don't have a lot of days left with us. G _ero._ " Tsuyu remarked.

"She's right," Uraraka agreed. "We should all go hang out after school or something."

"Ooh! I'd love to check out the local mall!" Bessie suggested.

"Then it's settled!" Tenya asserted. "After school we'll all go shopping. But given what happened to Midoriya-san last time I suggest we all stay together."

Deku relaxed.

"Is… is someone gonna...?" Bessie began.

"Don't worry." Kirishima comforted. "I'll do it." He turned to a nearby table. "Feel like joining us, Bakugo-kun?"

Katsuki growled. "Fine. But I'm paying for myself! I don't need anyone's charity! Got that?"

Once the school day was over the entire class 1-A excitedly boarded a subway and disembarked at the stop closest to the mall. From there it was a short walk until they reached the mall's entrance. Bessie was intrigued to see how the shops in a mall in Tokyo differed from the malls in Ordina City.

After Bessie picked up a few souvenirs for her people back home the group went for soft drinks in the food court where they chatted the time away until the sun began to set. Seeing as it was getting dark they decided to move the conversation to the communal area back at the dorms.

"How did you guys manage to beat that villain yesterday, Hanta-kun?" Mineta wanted to know.

"I'm not really sure," Sero answered. "He was somehow able to pull weapons out of thin air, but when I kept plucking them out of his hands he just sort of gave up. Surprisingly quickly too."

"What a dumbass!" Bakugo ranted. "No determination. Why did he even try it in the first place?"

"Because he didn't count on the possibility that someone might recognise his quirk." Bessie explained. "I know a kid back home with the same one."

William Jones

Quirk: Disassembly

He can pull his bones out of his body and use them as weapons. Once a bone has been removed he needs to make do without its use until he puts it back again. If he fails to do so the bone will eventually grow back over a length of time depending on its size.

"You seem so… _ordinaire_." Aoyama commented. "Is it true that you come from a school where everyone's an emo goblin like Tokoyami-kun?"

"Hey!" Tokoyami retorted.

"Not at all." Bessie answered. "They're much worse. Tokoyami's a pony princess compared to the creeps back home."

"That sounds kinda scary," Uraraka commented.

"And they're _all_ like that?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"Pretty much." Bessie confirmed. "Except for Bill, the kid with the bone quirk."

"This Bill," Todoroki began. "Is he your…"

"He's the closest thing I have to a friend," she explained. "Sometimes he's actually pretty funny. Like if he wants to sarcastically act like he's amazed or impressed he'll yank out his jaw bone and drop it on the ground." She chuckled. "I kinda' miss the dork." Her eyes began to water and another chuckle turned into a sob. "I miss everything. I miss my mom and her fried chicken. I miss my crummy teacher. I even miss the stuff I don't like. I don't get it. I love it here and I wish I didn't have to leave, but I just wanna go home!"

She took off her glasses and quietly cried into her hands.

"Aww. You're just a little homesick, Bessie-chan. Don't worry. We're here for you." Mina comforted. She stood up, walked over to Bessie and hugged her. "All of us."

Todoroki stood up and did the same. One by one the other students came up to Bessie and added themselves to the group hug. Even Bakugo walked over once everyone else had joined, reached into the huddled mass and awkwardly patted her shoulder, looking away. "Stop crying, loser," He said plainly.

Bessie now found herself surrounded by literal and figurative warmth. As much as a part of her yearned to go home, the rest of her felt like she was home already.

"Thanks, guys. I'm okay now." She said.

Eventually the time came for lights-out and each student returned to their room. Todoroki stayed behind just long enough to say one last thing to Bessie:

"Once you've left… We're all going to miss you. Good night."


	10. Saturday

Bessie was used to a five day school week, but was aware that Japanese schools had optional class on Saturdays. There was no way she was missing it. Even though it was a school day like any other the knowledge that it was technically optional made it seem more relaxed.

At lunch time she sat at the table and waited for Todoroki to join her. Instead he appeared in the doorway and waved at her.

 _That's a strange wave_ , Bessie thought, but smiled at him and waved back. He looked puzzled and waved at her again.

 _What..?_

"Why is Todoroki-kun beckoning you, Bessie-chan?" Tsuyu croaked. "And why are you just sitting there?"

 _Oh, right._ Todoroki was, in fact, not waving. That was the way people beckoned in Japan and Bessie was not used to it. She quickly stood up and rushed toward him. "What's up, Sho-kun?"

"I didn't want to say anything in front of the others. Some of them can be a bit immature. It's about tonight. What kind of movie should we go see?"

"I like action movies. The crazier the better!" she answered.

"Does seven o'clock work for you?" he asked?

"Seven is perfect," she affirmed.

"Cool. Meet you at the cinema." He said. The two of them returned to their friends in the dining hall and enjoyed lunch.

The practical lesson at the end of the day was presented by Midnight.

"More often than not success or failure in hero work, whether it's a chase or a battle, can come down to who can hold out the longest. So today we'll be taking a challenge in endurance training. You'll each be given a set of moderately heavy weights. You'll have to carry the weights while on a treadmill, and the conditions will change at random instances. How you carry your weights – or if you carry them at all – is up to you. But if either they or you fall off the treadmill you're out."

The provocatively dressed teacher noticed Bessie's nervous looking gaze.

"And don't worry. I'll not be using this." She said, waving her whip next to her face.

Once the challenge began, Todoroki coated his weights in ice and pushed them out in front of himself. Uraraka used her quirk as well and her weights drifted lazily around her head. Mineta stuck his weights together in a shape that was easy to carry. Sero used a similar technique. Tsuyu carried her weights inside her hardy stomach and with her hands free she was able to use her frog hop means of locomotion, tiring out more slowly than the average student. Yaoyorozu dragged her weights behind her on a small wagon. Ashido took a leaf from Todoroki and used a mild, slippery acid to push her weights across the treadmill as well. Izuku's quirk allowed him to carry the weights with ease, as did Sato's and Kirishima's. Small bursts from Tenya's engines made running easier. Tokoyami's Dark Shadow did the carrying while he focused on running. Koda tried recruiting a passerby animal to carry his weights but nothing showed up that was sufficiently large. Ojiro coiled his tail around his weights, gaining extra balance and leaving his arms free to run normally. The rest of the students relied on ordinary physical prowess for the whole of the challenge, not wanting to give up just because they could not come up with creative applications of their quirks on time.

A few minutes into the challenge Midnight flipped the switch for the first conditional change: everyone's treadmills went from smooth to bumpy – much like cobblestones. Ashido's weights scattered from slipping on the uneven surface and Yaoyorozu's wagon lost a wheel, spilling the weights. Todoroki did not experience the same problem as Ashido seeing as his weights were cemented to one another and did not separate from the uneven floor as a result. Ashido quickly gathered up her weights and continued running, carrying them in her arms. A while later the next condition changed: The room turned uncomfortably cold. Bessie and Todoroki were able to keep themselves warm thanks to their fire abilities. A few of the students dropped out – such as Jiro and Kaminari – who could not gain an advantage from their quirks. Koda and Aoyama dropped out for the same reason.

The next change was simulated rain. The moisture proved too much for Uraraka, who was already starting to feel nauseated.

Next was blistering heat, which Todoroki was able to counteract with his ice, and Bessie was able to resist due to being used to high temperatures. Asui dropped out on account of the extreme heat combined with the weights bouncing around inside her stomach. The ice encasing Todoroki had used to secure his weights began to melt, but he created more ice to maintain it.

The heat was lifted, and as a result Todoroki's treadmill – soaked from the melting ice – began to freeze over due to the ice he was pushing along. His weights froze fast to the treadmill and refused to budge. He quickly melted it again before it reached the end of the treadmill, but this resulted in all of the ice melting and many of the weights falling off the sides.

More students eventually tired out until only Sato, Ojiro, Mineta and Ashido remained. Ashido was in top form physically, but having lost her quirk advantage early on she was the next to tire out. It was down to Grape Juice, Tail Man and Sugar Man.

Sato had a bag of small candies which he would periodically eat from to keep his strength up, but it was beginning to take its toll: His decreased cognitive function, paired with the fact that he was only carrying his weights with one arm, caused him to react too late as his largest weight went off balance. It fell to the ground and he was out.

"I don't get it." Jiro commented. "Mineta's not usually that strong physically. What's keeping him going?"

Minoru panted, giving it his all. His eyes remained locked in front of him, where Midnight was surveying the two remaining students. As far as he was concerned he was running toward her. Eventually even Mashirao's energy gave out and the winner was Mineta, who promptly fainted from exhaustion.

Getting ready for the date, Bessie could barely contain her excitement. She carefully picked out what to wear and made a point of not overdoing her makeup.

In accordance with Bessie's response Shoto picked out the action movie that was showing. He also treated the two of them to popcorn, snacks and beverages. After the movie neither of them felt like parting ways for the evening yet, so instead they strolled through the mall, chatting about the movie.

 _Don't hold his hand in public. Don't hold his hand in public…_ Bessie did her research prior to the trip and found that England and Japan held varying opinions of what they considered "normal".

"Thanks for tonight, Todoroki-kun." She said eventually. "It was a real treat."

The next moment a palm and a set of fingers clasped Bessie's hand.

"Todoroki-kun…" _This… is a big deal…_

When Bessie got back to her dormitory she spread out her arms and fell back onto her bed. She appeared to sink into her soft mattress as she sighed.

Bessie knew, even as she was getting ready, that she would be in no mood to pack her things once she got back from her night out. So she did the smart thing by getting ready quickly, leaving her with enough time to pack beforehand. After almost half an hour of recollecting her evening and daydreaming (or rather, night-dreaming) she finally gathered up the willpower to ready herself for bed.

 _This week was like living in a fantasy world,_ she thought. _Tomorrow is the long flight back to reality._

A bittersweet concept. Although she missed her home and her family, there were other things she would never miss more than the world and people of UA.

 _Want to go home… want to stay…_ she thought as sleep eventually conquered her.


	11. Sunday

Once awake, Bessie began to gather her things. A moment later there was a knock at the door.

"Your chaperone to the airport is here!" said a familiar voice on the other side.

She opened the door to find the first Tokyo resident she met standing outside her room.

"Toshinori-san. It's good to see you!" she said. How have you been?

"No complaints, Bessie-chan. Did you enjoy your week with us?"

"So much!" she exclaimed. "I knew I'd be sad to leave the moment I arrived."

"Indeed," the skeletal man responded. "Are you ready to go?"

"Just about," she replied. "Just give me a few minutes? I need to say a quick goodbye."

"Certainly," Toshinori obliged. "I'll be right here when you're ready."

Bessie raced to Shoto's room and knocked on the door.

"Todoroki-kun! Are you in there?"

There was no answer. Bessie ran to Yaoyorozu's room to see if she knew where he was, but her room was empty as well. She tried a few more rooms, even Katsuki's, but no one was there.

"Where is everyone?" Bessie asked when she arrived back at her room.

"It's Sunday," Toshinori explained. "There's no school so most of the students are at home."

Bessie looked at the time on her phone. There wasn't enough time to go to Todoroki's house.

"We should really be going," the skinny man urged.

Bessie's hope fell flat. _We never said goodbye…_

On the subway ride to the airport Bessie once again found herself fighting tears. There were so many wonderful people she would probably never see again and she had failed to give any of them a proper greeting.

"This is where I leave you. I have to be somewhere," Toshinori said once they finally arrived at the airport. "You know where to go, right? Get your ticket from the desk over there. They'll take care of your luggage and show you the rest of the way."

"Thanks, Toshinori-san. Thanks for all your help," Bessie said. "Listen, can you do one more thing for me? I need to tell everyone that I'll miss them. And that I really enjoyed getting to know them all."

"I don't think they need me to tell them that," the near-skeleton smiled.

"Goodbye, Toshinori. Take care."

"Have a safe flight, Bessie-chan"

Like they had done before, Bessie and Toshinori exchanged both greeting gestures, and then they parted ways.

With everything behind her, Bessie felt like she was back in England already, and the attendant that helped her at the counter just _happened_ to be Japanese.

"Just follow the signs to the departures gate," the kind young woman said. "Enjoy your flight."

As Bessie neared the International Departures gate she grew aware of a sound like applause and cheering. There was a large mass of people assembled just a few steps before the corridor to the boarding lounge. She immediately recognised a giant of a man with yellow-blonde hair in two upward-pointing strands.

 _All Might?_

She started walking faster. There were children, too. It didn't take her long to recognize them, mainly because one of them stood out like a sore pink thumb. Everyone was there and it was beautiful. Even the teachers she had had lessons with and Principal Nezu, whom she had only seen briefly before Aizawa showed her to homeroom. Bessie abandoned her sped-up walking in favour of a flat-out sprint. The tears she had been holding back now flowed freely. Todoroki, too, ran to meet her and the two of them hugged.

"You didn't seriously think we'd let you go without a proper sendoff, did you?" he asked with a smile.

Bessie chuckled through the tears. "I was afraid-" she began. "I thought that…"

"Baaneto Erisabessu," All Might began. "On behalf of everyone here, I would like to thank you for the privilege of teaching someone from Ordina City High. It was a joy to have you here, and when the next OCH student arrives next year we hope it will be an equally pleasurable experience."

"I'll see to that," she replied, giving Shoto a wink.

One by one each of her classmates gave her a hug and a greeting. When Katsuki's turn came he merely patted her shoulder again.

"Go home. Get there in one piece."

Not surprisingly, Todoroki waited until last.

"I'll see you again, right?" he asked.

"I'll see to that." She repeated. "After all, I still owe Katsuki-kun a rematch," she added and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

THE END


End file.
